The mother dream by Rebecca Perry

Daughter, the door is open. For once
leave the raincloud outside. Learn
how to get along with offal for the
sake of your iron levels. Squeamishness
will get you nowhere in this life. Have you
ever witnessed a baby being dragged from
between the legs of a woman? When
you came from me I saw you only as
an amphibian out in the air, all wrong.
The door to heaven is a foot squared,
you are required to enter on your knees.
The men you are choosing to love –
I don’t know what to tell you.
Small, slippery child with wings.
Your skill for flower arrangement
has always been valued in this house.
You give randomness its whole
particular beauty. A mother gives for
the entirety of her life, then her heart
is clawed out of her chest. One day
you will be no one’s daughter and
your pathway to death will be ripped
wide open. What is this looping feeling?
Life is hard and gets further and
further away. One day you will look at
your hand holding an apple or television
remote, you will think, ‘Whose hand
is this?’ You have become disgusting
to yourself. Daughter is a word I have
always loved to say aloud. Say it now,
to me, before the rain comes in.